By Chris Tresson

The Lost Boys is one of my all-time favorite movies. I absolutely love it. Imagine my surprise, if you will, when I find out that Vertigo were putting out a comic book set in the movie universe. I had to give this one a go, just to see how they’d handled it. The story opens in Santa Carla and we’re given a little backstory about what happened in the movie. We meet the Frog brothers and Sam and Michael again. They’re all getting on with their lives. Michael’s working in a nursing home and Sam works in the local comic shop now. The Frog brothers are being the Frog brothers still, now receiving trained from Sam and Michael’s Grandpa. There’s loads of chit chat in this and then we get to Grandpa Emerson and his Santa Carla Hunter’s Society having a meeting, which is soon interrupted by some vampires… I’ll leave it there. No spoilers from me, bro.

This isn’t Tim Seeley’s strongest outing as a writer. Not by a long shot. I usually enjoy his work, and I think he’s a great writer, but this story is sub-par so far. Then again, this might just be a case of me wanting something completely different than what I got… I don’t know what I was expecting going into this but I’m pretty sure it was a lot more exciting than this first issue was. The fact is, there’s little going on here, beyond a big introduction to characters that if you’re familiar with the film (I’m sure you are if you intend to pick up the issue) isn’t really necessary. It’s mostly just scenes of people talking and a lot of goofy humor which falls kinda flat the major of the time… I know a lot of 80’s humor is goofy and maybe it’s supposed to read the way it does, but it didn’t sit well with me. The other thing, the appeal of The Lost Boys for me was the band of vampires and their moody/broody coolness. This series is seriously lacking in that so far… And I’m not 100% sure how I feel about how it ends either. I’d be interested to see what other fans think…

As for the art, I like Scott Godlewski’s art and I think he’s a great fit for this title (having read and thoroughly enjoyed The Dark and Bloody recently, I’m always keen to see more of this artist’s work.) My only gripe is that the likenesses of the characters are a bit hit and miss but I’m not expecting his art to be bang on given his style of drawing, and it’s clear enough as to who’s who so it doesn’t really matter all that much.

This might seem/read like a negative review, and I apologize for that. I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it either. I was just expecting more from a fan point of view. I’m going to stick with it and see where it goes for sure. I’m hoping I get the next issue and completely change my mind and start to enjoy it. I suppose I’ll just have to wait and see. If you’re a fan, go and get a copy of The Lost Boys #1, come back here and tell me what you thought of it. For now, I’m off to listen to the soundtrack and maybe ride a dirt bike around a beach…

Score: 3/5

The Lost Boys #1
Writer: Tim Seeley
Artist: Scott Godlewski
Publisher: Vertigo Comics